A man charged with molesting a small boy told Judge Richard W. Webb yesterday that he was innocent but wanted to plead guilty.

Rickey Lee Propst, 25, whose address in court records is 331 S. 4th St., Lehighton, has been jailed since the April 12 attack on a 10-year-old Franklin Township boy. Propst told Webb he had been living with the boy's family.

Franklin Township police said Propst and the boy were alone in the living room when Propst grabbed the boy, clamped a hand over his mouth and dragged him to the basement. Police said Propst pinned the boy to a bed, unzipped his own pants and began masturbating.

When he heard footsteps, police said, Propst zipped his pants and released the boy, telling the child that he would kill him if he told anyone.

Propst, however, told Webb that nothing happened when he and the boy were in the basement. Propst said he was lying on a bed while the boy played. When the child's mother came to the basement, he said, the boy said nothing.

Propst wanted to be sentenced yesterday to time served so he could be paroled. But Webb said no, instead ordering a pre-parole hearing to make sure Propst would have a place to live when he is released from prison.

Propst said relatives in Bethlehem have invited him to stay with them. Webb said he would rush the hearing to ensure Propst spends no more time in jail than necessary.